N&M Curatorial Submission Guidelines

CALL FOR CURATORIAL PROPOSALS:
The Natural & The Manufactured

Deadline: February 15, 2018
Note: Due to the volume of submissions, only successful applicants will be contacted.

Hosted by the ODD Gallery and KIAC Artist in Residence program since 2005, this unique project in the far Canadian north presents reinterpretations of the various cultural and economic values imposed on the environment, while exploring alternative political, social, economic and aesthetic agendas and strategies that interact with Dawson City’s regional landscapes and social infrastructures.

As such, The Natural and The Manufactured (N&M) explores issues related to site-specific, land-based and environmental art practices: the meaning of geography and the geography of meaning; the ephemeral and the concrete; the transitory nature of “nature” and our philosophical need to resist and respond to it.

TheNatural & the Manufactured (N&M) is a site of creation as well as presentation. A selected curator proposes two artists who will make works specifically for the project during their residence at KIAC’s Macauley House studios. The curator also expands the critical context of The N&M through a lecture and the publication of a post-exhibition text.

Curator’s fee: $2000; artist fees, travel subsidy and production assistance are also paid. See Terms and Resources below for details.

OPPORTUNITY:

The Natural & The Manufactured is the ODD Gallery’s signature annual project. A collaboration between a selected curator, the ODD Gallery and KIAC’s artist-in-residence program, The N&M is a 6-week creation residency for two artists. The curator will be present in Dawson City for 7-10 days leading up to and including the opening and artist talk nights.

The artists residencies culminate in the presentation of two site-specific installations (in 2019 both projects will be off-venue), two artist talks and the curator’s guest lecture. The talks and exhibition openings are presented during the Yukon Riverside Arts Festival. A post-exhibition text, written by the curator, appears in October and is distributed free of charge.

For the first twelve editions of The N&M, the artists, guest lecturer and essay writer were selected separately, meeting each other only once in Dawson. Starting in 2017, the ODD Gallery embraces a curatorial model. Having selected the artists in the year before the artist residencies, the curator will interface with the artists during the project creation, present the guest lecture and write the post-exhibition critical text. The longer timeframe will allow deeper connections to develop between the exhibitions, lecture and essay.

– Establishing the first contact with the artists in order to be assured of their collaboration (following the acceptance of a proposal, the gallery will assume responsibility for subsequent stages of scheduling and contracts);

– Providing a brief written introduction, information for grant applications and press releases as needed by gallery staff;

– Submitting a unique exhibition text for brochure in a mutually agreed-upon timeline (approx. 1500 words);
– Presenting a public talk about the project during the Arts Festival (Aug 18-21, 2017);

– Being available for consultation and assistance during exhibition installations.

The curator is responsible for selecting the artists and consulting with them during production; however, the artist’s plans are subject to the gallery’s approval for financial, technical and/or logistical reasons. The gallery will coordinate contracts, travel, accommodations, payments and other necessary administrative details.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

*We do not accept compressed files. Do not use ftp, zip files, Dropbox, WeTransfer etc.Some email systems zip files automatically; using recommended file sizes should prevent this from occurring.

Still Images:

– 10 to 20 images saved as .jpg files at 72 dpi in RGB colour mode.
– Maximum file size 1920 x 1080
– Label each image with a number and title – start the first nine images with a zero (01title.jpg, 02title.jpg…10title.jpg) to ensure they are presented in the order you wish.

OR

Film/Video/Audio/Time-based Work:
Please make video and audio files available online (ie Vimeo, Youtube, soundcloud etc) and provide the url link(s) in one separate PDF. Total running time is not to exceed 10 minutes.

C. In one PDF:

Name and contact info, project title, proposed artists, and a proposal (no more than two pages) outlining your general concept and a brief discussion about the artists. Please note any budgetary concerns, and special installation or technical requirements.
*Artists do not need to be confirmed but should be aware of and have expressed interest in the proposal

TERMS AND RESOURCES:

The Gallery applies for funding to cover the majority of expenses for the Natural & the Manufactured project. Pending grant approval:

The ODD Gallery will pay two artists CARFAC-rated solo exhibition fees of $1,900 each, plus artist talk fees of $289 each for a presentation on or around the exhibition opening. The ODD Gallery will pay the curator a fee of $2000 (for programming, exhibition text and public talk). In addition, the Gallery will cover the production of promotion and dissemination materials such as invitations and exhibition brochures.

While the Gallery will assist as needed, the artists will be responsible for installation logistics. The gallery will also apply for funding to cover travel (one return trip within Canada for 2 artists and 1 curator), shipping (max $1000 total) and some production assistance (max $2000 total).

We provide accommodations and studio space for two artists at the Macaulay House Artists Residence for 6 weeks, as well as accommodations in Dawson for the curator for max 10 days. All work exhibited in the gallery will be insured up to a total value of $25,000 for the course of the exhibition including time in transit.

Candidates that are successful in this application are welcome to explore independent funding sources to increase activity and resources beyond those mentioned above. Letters of support will be committed to selected candidates to support this action.

GALLERY SPECIFICATIONS:

Two offsite exhibition locations and logistics to be selected and negotiated with assistance from the gallery.

Deadline: February 15, 2018.

EMAIL complete applications to:kiac.submissions@gmail.com

*Email subject line should read: yourlastname N&M submission**All support materials should be attached to one email